WEBVTT 00:00:00.840 --> 00:00:13.859 Well, good morning. It's good to be back with you. I am thankful for your prayers as I recovered from illness last week, and I'm particularly thankful for Tyler. 00:00:14.060 --> 00:00:25.179 Many of you may not have noticed, but he stepped in a week early and preached ahead in the book of Revelation, which meant he had his manuscript, he had his sermon prepared more than a week early. 00:00:25.179 --> 00:00:41.600 So praise the Lord for our elders who are serving well, and I also just want to extend the thanks to the staff who covered, and a number of you volunteers who covered last week when I was out of the office. 00:00:41.739 --> 00:00:46.000 So I just want to appreciate you as we begin. 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:55.939 And we are, as you know, in preaching through the book of Revelation, and we are going through the first part, which are a series of letters. 00:00:56.200 --> 00:01:05.859 They are letters of encouragement to the churches to keep going, to stay strong, to endure hardship, to keep the faith. 00:01:05.859 --> 00:01:14.159 But maybe you're feeling, and I felt this a little bit last week too, that these letters are encouraging letters, but they're also weighty letters. 00:01:14.519 --> 00:01:18.859 They have this pattern of, I know these things that are good about you, but... 00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:28.159 And most of them have a pretty large after that but statement that says, after that, there's something significant. 00:01:28.700 --> 00:01:29.560 It's a warning. 00:01:29.560 --> 00:01:36.439 I was on YouTube this week looking at videos about how to use circular saws, and they're fascinating. 00:01:36.820 --> 00:01:40.320 This one guy said, I've been using a circular saw for 25 years. 00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:46.280 And he had a glove on his hand, and he said, this is what you should not do, because I cut off three of my fingers. 00:01:47.359 --> 00:01:51.740 And then he went on, and he talked about, here's how you use a circular saw. 00:01:51.859 --> 00:01:56.300 This is what you must do to protect yourself from doing harm. 00:01:56.439 --> 00:01:58.920 And this is what Jesus is doing for the churches. 00:01:58.920 --> 00:02:02.200 Jesus is saying, I love you, keep going. 00:02:02.519 --> 00:02:04.379 And I want to warn you. 00:02:04.820 --> 00:02:16.539 I want to make you know that if you keep doing these kinds of practices, it will result in damage, harm, destruction to your spiritual soul. 00:02:16.819 --> 00:02:20.920 So this is what the letters are all about, particularly. 00:02:21.139 --> 00:02:24.480 And as we've seen, there are seven letters to seven churches. 00:02:24.479 --> 00:02:27.519 There are actual churches in actual places. 00:02:27.520 --> 00:02:32.400 But we think the sevenfold pattern makes them applicable to all of us. 00:02:32.460 --> 00:02:39.520 We always want to ask ourselves the question, what does this passage have to say to us, to our church, to this place today? 00:02:40.640 --> 00:02:42.620 And so that's what we're going to do. 00:02:42.680 --> 00:02:44.420 We're going to look at two letters today. 00:02:44.419 --> 00:02:49.379 So I've got a slightly larger task than some of the others. 00:02:49.459 --> 00:02:52.679 We're going to look at the letters to Pergamum and Thyatira. 00:02:53.379 --> 00:02:59.019 And there's reasons, because there's thematic resonance between the two. 00:02:59.020 --> 00:03:01.960 So we're going to do that together. 00:03:01.960 --> 00:03:11.660 If you want to turn in your Bible to page 986, and I would encourage you, unless you're using electronic device, pull out your Bible and read along with us. 00:03:11.860 --> 00:03:16.540 Partly because we're doing two letters, we're going to be jumping back and forth with verses. 00:03:16.760 --> 00:03:22.020 And it will be helpful for you to be able to follow along as I refer to a verse along the way. 00:03:22.020 --> 00:03:29.120 So Revelation chapter 2, starting in verse 12, and then we'll read to the end of the chapter. 00:03:31.260 --> 00:03:32.700 This is God's word. 00:03:32.700 --> 00:03:41.100 And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write, the words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. 00:03:42.160 --> 00:03:44.719 I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. 00:03:45.420 --> 00:03:49.400 Yet you hold fast to my name, and you did not deny my faith. 00:03:49.400 --> 00:03:55.819 Even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was killed among you where Satan dwells. 00:03:56.860 --> 00:03:59.939 But I have a few things against you. 00:04:00.780 --> 00:04:14.120 You have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel so that they might eat food, sacrifice to idols, and practice sexual immorality. 00:04:14.120 --> 00:04:19.220 So also you have some who hold the teachings of the Nicolaitans. 00:04:20.280 --> 00:04:21.240 Therefore, repent. 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:26.579 If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 00:04:26.879 --> 00:04:30.360 He who has ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. 00:04:30.360 --> 00:04:36.319 To the one who conquers, I will give some of the hidden manna. 00:04:36.620 --> 00:04:45.259 And I will give him a white stone with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it. 00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:51.080 And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, 00:04:51.079 --> 00:04:59.539 The words of the Son of God who has eyes like a flame of fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 00:05:00.419 --> 00:05:08.539 I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 00:05:08.540 --> 00:05:22.939 But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 00:05:23.879 --> 00:05:28.860 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 00:05:28.860 --> 00:05:39.840 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her, I will throw into great tribulation until they repent of her works. 00:05:40.060 --> 00:05:52.060 And I will strike her children dead, and all the children will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve. 00:05:52.060 --> 00:06:01.000 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, 00:06:02.139 --> 00:06:05.740 to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. 00:06:06.240 --> 00:06:10.680 Only hold fast what you have until I come. 00:06:11.540 --> 00:06:17.920 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 00:06:17.920 --> 00:06:24.620 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken into pieces, 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:29.199 even as I myself have received authority from my Father. 00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:32.140 And I will give him the morning star. 00:06:32.920 --> 00:06:38.259 He who has ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. 00:06:39.000 --> 00:06:41.120 Let's pray together and ask for God's help. 00:06:41.639 --> 00:06:43.080 Lord, we thank you for this word. 00:06:43.079 --> 00:06:49.719 Lord, we thank you this morning for the privilege it is to gather. 00:06:50.680 --> 00:06:52.159 And Lord, to sit under your word. 00:06:52.419 --> 00:06:55.120 And Lord, I pray that by your Spirit you would teach us. 00:06:56.039 --> 00:06:59.459 Lord, through your word, that we might know you more. 00:07:00.899 --> 00:07:03.539 Lord, I pray that our hearts would be soft. 00:07:03.540 --> 00:07:14.980 Lord, that you would be, Lord, convicting us of sin, of error, of ways in which we may not be following you as we ought to. 00:07:16.140 --> 00:07:17.740 Lord, let us heed your warnings. 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:20.320 And Lord, let us hear your encouragement. 00:07:22.220 --> 00:07:24.400 Lord, to hold fast until the end. 00:07:25.460 --> 00:07:28.740 God, I pray for your help that you would help me to speak clearly as I ought. 00:07:28.740 --> 00:07:31.660 And that we together would sit under your word. 00:07:32.100 --> 00:07:33.740 We pray in Jesus' name. 00:07:34.600 --> 00:07:34.900 Amen. 00:07:41.060 --> 00:07:42.019 There's a lot here. 00:07:42.600 --> 00:07:45.400 I'm not going to promise to explain every image. 00:07:45.759 --> 00:07:48.199 If you have a question, you can come up and ask me after the service. 00:07:48.519 --> 00:07:55.139 I'm going to try to give us the big picture of what these two letters have in common as we look at it. 00:07:55.139 --> 00:07:58.879 And here are a couple of things that we're going to see running through these passages. 00:07:59.139 --> 00:08:01.240 This is our outline if you're an outline person. 00:08:01.599 --> 00:08:06.659 We're going to first look at the context that in this context of Pergamum and Thyatira, 00:08:06.779 --> 00:08:10.620 there is a pressure to conform to the ways of the world. 00:08:10.919 --> 00:08:14.300 The second thing that we will see is that there is a problem. 00:08:14.399 --> 00:08:20.819 The problem is that within the church there has been a toleration of compromise with the culture. 00:08:21.899 --> 00:08:23.339 So the context, a problem. 00:08:23.339 --> 00:08:25.060 The third thing is there is a warning. 00:08:25.419 --> 00:08:31.339 A warning that the consequences for this path of compromise are real. 00:08:31.939 --> 00:08:34.299 And the fourth thing is a way forward. 00:08:34.720 --> 00:08:40.120 That is that there is a hope in a conquering Christ that can enable us to persevere. 00:08:40.539 --> 00:08:41.559 So this is our outline. 00:08:41.639 --> 00:08:44.259 A context, a problem, a warning, and the way forward. 00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:46.199 So let's look through them together. 00:08:46.360 --> 00:08:47.600 First, the context. 00:08:48.120 --> 00:08:50.740 The pressure to conform in these worlds. 00:08:50.740 --> 00:08:53.080 So I need to tell you a little bit about these cities. 00:08:53.320 --> 00:09:00.580 Pergamum was actually the most prominent city in Asia Minor in the first century. 00:09:00.740 --> 00:09:01.879 It was a leading city. 00:09:03.019 --> 00:09:06.460 And here in the text in verse 13, Jesus says, 00:09:06.620 --> 00:09:08.820 it is where the throne of Satan is. 00:09:08.899 --> 00:09:13.220 Or at the end of verse 13, it says, this is where Satan dwells. 00:09:13.220 --> 00:09:14.860 Now, we don't know exactly. 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:22.200 Satan doesn't dwell in one of these places particularly because Satan is a spirit and he acts in lots of different places in the world. 00:09:22.540 --> 00:09:23.660 This is not his actual home. 00:09:23.720 --> 00:09:30.300 But it seems that maybe there's a reference to a particular kind of spiritual darkness or spiritual influence. 00:09:30.299 --> 00:09:35.479 When you look at the history, if you've ever been to Berlin and you've gone to the Pergamum Museum, 00:09:35.839 --> 00:09:43.839 the Pergamum Museum has the altar of Pergamum, which is this massive, it's actually a staircase with a huge frieze around the top. 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:46.979 And it's this amazing piece of architecture. 00:09:47.240 --> 00:09:50.319 But it was meant as a place of worship to Zeus. 00:09:50.320 --> 00:10:00.680 And if you look through the details of it, you can see there's lots of dark imagery, spiritual imagery of idolatry involved in it. 00:10:01.420 --> 00:10:09.700 Not only was this true that Pergamum was a polytheistic city in Rome that had much worship, 00:10:09.700 --> 00:10:17.020 but it was also one of the leading places where the cult of the emperor began to arise in the first century. 00:10:17.019 --> 00:10:24.539 It was actually the first place in Asia where they built a temple to Augustus when he was a living emperor. 00:10:25.240 --> 00:10:30.720 And so the cult of the emperor, that is, worshiping the emperor Caesar, the leader of the Roman Empire, 00:10:30.879 --> 00:10:37.779 not simply as a political leader, but as a deified god, began during this time. 00:10:37.779 --> 00:10:51.939 And so in this context, imagine being a Christian, where you say there is one God, and there's one Savior Jesus. 00:10:53.699 --> 00:10:55.500 Imagine what it would be like. 00:10:56.259 --> 00:11:01.879 In this context, there's an immense amount of pressure to be like the people around you. 00:11:01.879 --> 00:11:10.179 And it seemed like there were people who were teaching in this church that there was nothing wrong with being a part of the imperial cult. 00:11:10.779 --> 00:11:13.659 One of the commentators writes this. 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:20.299 They say that there was nothing wrong with participating in the imperial cult since most Romans did it out of civic duty rather than actual worship. 00:11:20.879 --> 00:11:28.080 And so maybe they were eating sacrificed meats, but at temple feasts honoring Caesar as God and Savior. 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:30.820 But they weren't thinking this was a problem. 00:11:31.920 --> 00:11:34.740 So this is the context of Pergamum. 00:11:35.160 --> 00:11:37.440 And then you shift down the road to Thyatira. 00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:39.200 Thyatira was not a big city. 00:11:39.280 --> 00:11:40.580 It was actually a small city. 00:11:40.840 --> 00:11:44.660 But it was dominated by artisan guilds. 00:11:45.580 --> 00:11:53.400 So if you remember in Acts, Lydia, who was a purveyor of purple cloth, was from Thyatira. 00:11:53.399 --> 00:11:55.240 So this helps you. 00:11:55.600 --> 00:11:59.240 And it was famous for its dyes, for its bronzes, for lots of other goods. 00:11:59.539 --> 00:12:03.019 But each guild had a patron god. 00:12:03.579 --> 00:12:12.279 And each guild had rituals, rites, gatherings, where they would have a professional conference. 00:12:12.980 --> 00:12:17.519 But along with it, they would have religious worship to this patron god. 00:12:18.299 --> 00:12:18.579 Right? 00:12:18.580 --> 00:12:22.120 Imagine some of you, lots of you, go to professional conferences. 00:12:22.520 --> 00:12:26.220 And imagine when you gather in the morning, they would have a 20-minute series where they say, 00:12:26.540 --> 00:12:33.320 and now we all lift our glass to Aphrodite before you go on with whatever your work is. 00:12:34.700 --> 00:12:36.840 This was the context in which they lived. 00:12:36.980 --> 00:12:39.680 And this would be normal and expected and required. 00:12:40.920 --> 00:12:42.840 So here's the context. 00:12:43.740 --> 00:12:47.220 This is what, this is, the churches in these cities were not dead. 00:12:47.220 --> 00:12:49.000 They had some good life in them. 00:12:49.740 --> 00:12:52.379 But they were holding up under some persecution. 00:12:52.379 --> 00:12:55.820 But they were in danger because of this external pressure. 00:12:56.820 --> 00:13:03.060 And the danger was even more amplified by the problem. 00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:06.660 So the first one is the context, the social pressure. 00:13:06.820 --> 00:13:08.379 The second thing is the problem. 00:13:08.379 --> 00:13:18.179 The problem of compromise with the culture that was embodied by their tolerance of teachers within the churches 00:13:18.179 --> 00:13:23.519 that were teaching things that were not of God and the gospel. 00:13:24.080 --> 00:13:24.279 Right? 00:13:24.460 --> 00:13:26.100 And so this is what we see. 00:13:26.220 --> 00:13:28.320 Verse 20 uses the word tolerance. 00:13:28.899 --> 00:13:29.059 Right? 00:13:29.139 --> 00:13:30.240 But this I have against you. 00:13:30.279 --> 00:13:32.100 You tolerate these things. 00:13:32.100 --> 00:13:38.580 And again, we live in a world where tolerance is lifted up as a great value. 00:13:38.820 --> 00:13:45.159 And listen, if that means we treat one another with dignity and honor because we're made in the image of God, 00:13:45.519 --> 00:13:47.899 amen, that's the kind of tolerance we ought to have. 00:13:48.080 --> 00:13:50.779 And biblical Christians ought to support it completely. 00:13:51.159 --> 00:13:54.180 But tolerance doesn't mean we allow anything to happen. 00:13:54.320 --> 00:13:54.980 It doesn't matter. 00:13:55.120 --> 00:13:57.160 You do you and I do me and we're all good. 00:13:57.159 --> 00:13:58.919 But that's not the way God. 00:13:59.419 --> 00:14:05.779 And here, Christ is condemning them for saying you tolerate something that is not good. 00:14:06.719 --> 00:14:06.980 Right? 00:14:07.339 --> 00:14:08.879 And it's embodied in these teachers. 00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:10.839 The first one is the teaching of Balaam. 00:14:11.179 --> 00:14:15.019 Now, I don't have time to go back and read Numbers 22 through 25. 00:14:15.139 --> 00:14:16.039 Balaam was a prophet. 00:14:16.539 --> 00:14:20.839 The king of Moab, Balak, came and asked him to curse Israel. 00:14:21.019 --> 00:14:22.319 God wouldn't let him do that. 00:14:22.319 --> 00:14:26.039 Over and over again, there's a funny story about a donkey and all that. 00:14:26.039 --> 00:14:27.039 It's in the angel of the Lord. 00:14:27.159 --> 00:14:29.419 You can look it up later in chapter 24. 00:14:30.360 --> 00:14:41.480 But what ended up happening was this man seemed to then be involved with what happens in chapter 25, 00:14:41.779 --> 00:14:48.939 where the Moabite women then entice some of the Israelite men into sexual relationships 00:14:48.939 --> 00:14:52.500 that God had forbidden them to have. 00:14:52.500 --> 00:14:59.899 And so, what we see clearly, we don't know all of what Jesus is referring to here. 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:02.259 We don't know all of what the teaching of Balaam is. 00:15:02.320 --> 00:15:05.399 We haven't found the book of the teaching of Balaam in the first century. 00:15:05.700 --> 00:15:08.399 But what we do know is what we see in verse 14. 00:15:09.539 --> 00:15:09.860 Right? 00:15:09.860 --> 00:15:11.919 Verse 14 says, 00:15:13.480 --> 00:15:31.980 So these are the two big things that are so clear that we know Jesus is saying, 00:15:32.100 --> 00:15:33.279 here's the problem. 00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:39.659 You're allowing people in your midst who teach that these things are okay. 00:15:40.120 --> 00:15:43.799 And it's exactly the same thing that we see in Thyatira. 00:15:44.039 --> 00:15:48.159 If we go ahead and we look at the next letter, where is it? 00:15:48.659 --> 00:15:51.899 Verse 20, I have this against you. 00:15:51.919 --> 00:15:53.439 You have this woman Jezebel. 00:15:53.559 --> 00:15:58.480 We don't know if this was an actual person or if this is a symbolic person. 00:15:58.480 --> 00:16:03.600 But it seems like there's someone teaching similarly the same thing. 00:16:04.039 --> 00:16:09.920 This person was teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality 00:16:09.920 --> 00:16:12.800 and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 00:16:12.940 --> 00:16:14.779 Now, Jezebel is a great image of this. 00:16:15.039 --> 00:16:17.800 If you remember Jezebel, 1 Kings 16 through 21. 00:16:17.960 --> 00:16:19.159 Again, I'm not going to read the whole thing. 00:16:19.580 --> 00:16:25.060 She was the foreign wife of King Ahab who did not do anything according to the Lord 00:16:25.060 --> 00:16:26.639 and the way he was supposed to. 00:16:26.639 --> 00:16:28.559 He was one of the worst kings. 00:16:28.919 --> 00:16:32.879 He was the one who went after Elijah the prophet and tried to kill him. 00:16:33.439 --> 00:16:35.480 Jezebel was active in all of these things. 00:16:35.639 --> 00:16:40.319 And Jezebel actively led her husband and therefore the whole kingdom of Israel 00:16:40.319 --> 00:16:47.139 to sacrifice to idols and then become involved in cultic prostitution 00:16:47.139 --> 00:16:51.179 to the gods of Baal that she worshipped. 00:16:51.179 --> 00:16:56.719 And so this image is brought forth and saying this is what's happening in your church. 00:16:56.819 --> 00:17:01.059 You're allowing people to come in and do this work of seducing, 00:17:01.779 --> 00:17:06.419 this power of pulling people into paths of destruction. 00:17:07.159 --> 00:17:11.399 And the other people, just so you can see the spread of what happens in Revelation, 00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:14.579 the book of Revelation, do you know who else seduces the church? 00:17:14.579 --> 00:17:16.919 Satan does it in chapter 12. 00:17:17.220 --> 00:17:20.819 The false prophet will do it in chapter 13 and chapter 19. 00:17:21.359 --> 00:17:26.279 And an image that we'll get to later, the harlot of Babylon in chapter 18. 00:17:26.500 --> 00:17:30.619 All of these are those who are seducing the church by saying, 00:17:30.859 --> 00:17:33.599 it's okay, there's something good here. 00:17:33.839 --> 00:17:35.019 Don't listen to God. 00:17:35.519 --> 00:17:37.240 Do these things. 00:17:37.240 --> 00:17:44.339 Now look, when we put it this bluntly, why would anyone follow these teachings, right? 00:17:44.859 --> 00:17:46.299 I mean, who would want this? 00:17:46.380 --> 00:17:47.279 Who would do this? 00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:52.559 But let's stop and remember the pressure and the context that they lived, right? 00:17:54.960 --> 00:18:00.620 Sometimes it's really tempting to just go with the flow to avoid persecution. 00:18:00.619 --> 00:18:08.739 We don't want our bosses to be mad at us because we're following faithfully the ways of Christ. 00:18:09.339 --> 00:18:16.539 We don't want our family to not invite us to Thanksgiving dinner because we believe in Jesus. 00:18:18.879 --> 00:18:25.699 We all have in our desire, in our hearts, a desire to be like the world that is around us 00:18:25.699 --> 00:18:30.159 so that we don't stand out and to be liked by the world that we live in. 00:18:30.619 --> 00:18:33.839 So that we don't face negative pressure. 00:18:35.219 --> 00:18:40.339 But we know, friends, that this is a reality for us. 00:18:41.199 --> 00:18:41.479 Right? 00:18:41.659 --> 00:18:44.359 That we might feel these similar temptations. 00:18:45.079 --> 00:18:46.659 And we need to fight against it. 00:18:47.399 --> 00:18:47.679 Right? 00:18:49.199 --> 00:18:50.899 Now, I do want to say this. 00:18:51.259 --> 00:18:54.879 As we think about Christ's call to step apart from the culture, 00:18:55.259 --> 00:18:58.339 we want to make sure that we're not being stupid about this. 00:18:58.339 --> 00:19:01.799 I know, sorry for parents, I shouldn't use that word, right? 00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:02.759 Don't use that word, stupid. 00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:04.579 But here's the thing. 00:19:04.919 --> 00:19:11.019 If we're going to be, we should be, as Christians, people who seek peace and who love our neighbor. 00:19:11.539 --> 00:19:18.879 We don't need to be unnecessarily weird or combative or confronting for unnecessary reasons. 00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:25.860 But we need to know that following Christ will always lead us against the grain of our culture. 00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:27.820 And this is true in every culture. 00:19:27.940 --> 00:19:32.080 And different cultures are going to face different pressure points along the way. 00:19:32.440 --> 00:19:37.760 But as a follower of Christ, you will always find that the human culture you live in 00:19:37.760 --> 00:19:41.760 has places that you can't follow along with. 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:52.539 Now, particularly in these churches, the areas have been sexual immorality and idolatry. 00:19:53.099 --> 00:19:57.059 Let's think about these things and the pressures in our culture today. 00:19:57.680 --> 00:19:59.799 So we're going to talk about sex for a few minutes. 00:20:00.039 --> 00:20:04.819 Sorry if you need a spoiler or if you need a trigger warning here, you've just got it. 00:20:04.900 --> 00:20:05.759 So we're going to talk about it. 00:20:05.879 --> 00:20:06.559 And why is this? 00:20:06.779 --> 00:20:07.920 Why do we talk about this? 00:20:07.980 --> 00:20:09.539 Because the Bible talks about it a lot. 00:20:09.640 --> 00:20:11.259 Why does the Bible talk about it a lot? 00:20:11.259 --> 00:20:18.720 Because God gave our sexuality something good, something with real power to glorify God 00:20:18.720 --> 00:20:22.680 and appoint us to Him in amazing ways. 00:20:23.140 --> 00:20:29.359 But in sin, this thing that has great power has been turned to evil, has been turned to harm. 00:20:29.720 --> 00:20:35.079 It has the power to become addictive, abusive, and selfish in all sorts of ways. 00:20:35.079 --> 00:20:44.379 And we live in a world where sexuality has been exalted to this primary position, right? 00:20:44.639 --> 00:20:48.059 And, you know, look, I don't know if it's that different from the first century. 00:20:48.639 --> 00:20:49.859 You can ask Tom. 00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:55.259 He's the first century church expert about exactly how licentious the first century was. 00:20:55.480 --> 00:20:57.740 But this is a human problem. 00:20:57.859 --> 00:20:59.919 This isn't just a 21st century problem. 00:20:59.920 --> 00:21:06.960 But we know the particular ways that our culture makes assumptions that need to be challenged, right? 00:21:07.080 --> 00:21:13.820 The assumption that human flourishing depends on a healthy, flourishing, active sexual life. 00:21:13.960 --> 00:21:16.300 If you don't have that, you're being repressed. 00:21:16.820 --> 00:21:18.860 You're being limited. 00:21:18.859 --> 00:21:27.899 You're being somehow prevented from the fullness of humanity by doing this. 00:21:28.919 --> 00:21:32.179 Our culture says you have to do this in order to be happy. 00:21:33.479 --> 00:21:35.479 What does it look like in particular? 00:21:36.299 --> 00:21:39.899 If you're a teenager, hopefully you're not having to deal with this. 00:21:39.900 --> 00:21:49.240 But we know it's an endemic in our culture that socially middle schoolers and high schoolers are texting one another saying, 00:21:49.880 --> 00:21:52.480 show me a picture of you naked. 00:21:53.400 --> 00:21:59.900 Open up yourself to me sexually through visual images so that I can accept you. 00:21:59.940 --> 00:22:03.720 And if you don't do this, well, then you'll face consequences. 00:22:03.820 --> 00:22:08.460 And if you do do this, then that picture is out in the ecosphere, right? 00:22:08.460 --> 00:22:13.720 We know that we live in a culture where there is an epidemic of pornography, 00:22:14.200 --> 00:22:18.900 where this is hitting kids as young as 8 and 9 and 10, 00:22:20.140 --> 00:22:21.940 and they're becoming enslaved to it. 00:22:22.079 --> 00:22:27.019 And there is an assumption broadly out there that this is not a bad thing, 00:22:27.420 --> 00:22:30.240 but that this is a normal or at least a freedom, 00:22:30.380 --> 00:22:33.940 hey, you do what you do as long as it doesn't hurt anybody. 00:22:34.100 --> 00:22:36.279 And we know there are tons of lies under that. 00:22:36.319 --> 00:22:37.559 I'm not going to get into all of that. 00:22:37.559 --> 00:22:45.099 But recognize this is the water that we drink every day, right? 00:22:46.139 --> 00:22:49.559 For those of you who are of dating or marriageable age, 00:22:49.940 --> 00:22:54.779 the assumption out there is that you're going to live together and sleep together before you get married. 00:22:55.539 --> 00:22:56.720 This is normal. 00:22:57.179 --> 00:23:00.319 And in the church, people are saying, well, what's wrong with that? 00:23:00.399 --> 00:23:02.259 Why would God not want us to do that? 00:23:02.259 --> 00:23:06.240 Isn't that like checking people out to figure out if this is a good spouse for me? 00:23:08.240 --> 00:23:10.619 It's not the way God designed it. 00:23:10.619 --> 00:23:16.539 And even in marriages, sex becomes an instrument of power. 00:23:17.000 --> 00:23:19.439 It becomes an instrument of abuse. 00:23:20.679 --> 00:23:22.919 Sometimes we think we get bored with it, 00:23:22.959 --> 00:23:24.959 and we think, well, let's watch some pornography together, 00:23:25.039 --> 00:23:26.439 because that will spice up our life. 00:23:27.079 --> 00:23:29.359 Friends, this is not what God wants for us. 00:23:30.099 --> 00:23:34.619 None of this, none of this pictures the kind of self-giving, 00:23:34.619 --> 00:23:38.799 giving, loving action towards one another 00:23:38.799 --> 00:23:43.379 that allows us to, in our sexual lives, 00:23:43.479 --> 00:23:47.619 to honor God and to picture the kind of self-giving love 00:23:47.619 --> 00:23:51.259 that Christ gave as he gave himself up for his church. 00:23:51.259 --> 00:24:00.720 So we need to see that we will swim against the grain of culture 00:24:00.720 --> 00:24:06.059 if we are going to not allow these teachings to soak into our brain 00:24:06.059 --> 00:24:10.140 and become the pattern of our lives. 00:24:13.500 --> 00:24:15.099 Now, I spent a lot of time on that, 00:24:15.240 --> 00:24:16.619 and now we're coming to idolatry, 00:24:16.720 --> 00:24:18.680 which is actually way larger than that. 00:24:18.680 --> 00:24:21.620 So I'm going to talk about idolatry as a category 00:24:21.620 --> 00:24:23.720 rather than getting into all of the specifics. 00:24:24.279 --> 00:24:25.940 Tim Keller wrote in Counterfeit Gods, 00:24:26.039 --> 00:24:28.820 an idol is anything more important to you than God, 00:24:29.220 --> 00:24:33.799 anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, 00:24:34.200 --> 00:24:39.200 anything you seek to give you what only God can give. 00:24:40.400 --> 00:24:41.880 So what might our idols be? 00:24:42.120 --> 00:24:43.299 It might be success. 00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:46.740 If I can just make it to the top, no matter what it costs, 00:24:46.740 --> 00:24:47.900 if I can make it to the top, 00:24:47.900 --> 00:24:50.920 then I will arrive, and then I will be happy, 00:24:51.120 --> 00:24:52.560 and then I will be saved. 00:24:52.680 --> 00:24:54.200 My life will have meaning and purpose. 00:24:55.100 --> 00:24:57.840 It might be other things, power, or money, 00:24:58.180 --> 00:25:01.040 or children, or spouse, or a potential spouse. 00:25:01.320 --> 00:25:04.480 It might be a political leader or a social movement. 00:25:04.759 --> 00:25:08.320 There are so many things in this world that can capture our hearts. 00:25:08.319 --> 00:25:14.899 And some of the most basic ones are simply ourselves. 00:25:15.639 --> 00:25:17.539 We love to exalt ourselves. 00:25:18.019 --> 00:25:19.740 We love to always be right. 00:25:19.980 --> 00:25:23.240 We love to seek our own pleasure above anything else. 00:25:23.240 --> 00:25:34.720 Worshiping an idol is robbing God of the worship that he deserves 00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:39.420 as the one who is fully and only worthy of our worship. 00:25:39.420 --> 00:25:45.860 And in the first century, there are all of these contexts where there are all of these pressures 00:25:45.860 --> 00:25:48.120 to pursue these idols. 00:25:48.340 --> 00:25:53.800 When you go to that professional conference, do you hear the undertone of worship the idol? 00:25:54.100 --> 00:25:57.640 Worship the idol of whatever your industry is, whatever your work is. 00:25:57.960 --> 00:26:02.600 When you live, when you go to the playground, and you're on the playground with other moms, 00:26:02.599 --> 00:26:05.000 do you hear the subtext of the idols? 00:26:05.199 --> 00:26:06.099 Worship your children. 00:26:06.539 --> 00:26:07.500 Worship your family. 00:26:08.319 --> 00:26:11.439 Do what the world is doing to make these things happen. 00:26:12.459 --> 00:26:15.079 And I can multiply that over and over and over again. 00:26:15.179 --> 00:26:20.079 But recognize there's always a subtext of good things that God has given 00:26:20.079 --> 00:26:24.419 becoming ultimate things in our hearts so that we no longer follow God. 00:26:24.619 --> 00:26:30.339 And it warps us, and it twists us, and it keeps us from pursuing and clinging to Christ. 00:26:30.339 --> 00:26:36.519 And it's, Keller says that if anything is so central and essential to our lives 00:26:36.519 --> 00:26:40.139 that should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living, 00:26:40.619 --> 00:26:42.500 this is when we know there's an idol. 00:26:43.159 --> 00:26:45.279 I can't live without this. 00:26:46.139 --> 00:26:48.059 If I don't have this, I'm going to die. 00:26:49.399 --> 00:26:51.519 That's the clearest way for us to know our idols. 00:26:52.639 --> 00:26:53.819 But there are other ways. 00:26:54.559 --> 00:26:56.799 Where do you spend your time and your heart energy? 00:26:57.379 --> 00:26:58.419 Where do you spend your money? 00:27:00.339 --> 00:27:01.619 Do an examination. 00:27:01.899 --> 00:27:05.059 See where the idols lurk in your life. 00:27:06.919 --> 00:27:11.079 And recognize that just like the church in the first century, we too are prone. 00:27:11.720 --> 00:27:13.819 And listen, it's not just out there. 00:27:14.439 --> 00:27:17.699 It's people in the church saying, God wants you to be happy. 00:27:18.299 --> 00:27:19.980 God wants you to be self-fulfilled. 00:27:20.240 --> 00:27:22.039 So go and do all these things. 00:27:22.039 --> 00:27:27.460 There are places where even within the church, these idolatries are being raised up, 00:27:27.519 --> 00:27:31.539 and people are teaching it and saying, this is what God wants for you. 00:27:32.619 --> 00:27:36.559 And we need to go back to the scriptures again and again. 00:27:36.559 --> 00:27:45.220 Because all of these things lead us away from Christ's purpose for us. 00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:52.899 He has saved us so that we might follow him until the end, to hold fast and to hold firm. 00:27:52.900 --> 00:27:58.400 Because he says, if you don't, there are consequences. 00:28:00.600 --> 00:28:04.160 So if you're following the outline, this is number three, the warning. 00:28:04.280 --> 00:28:05.680 The consequences are real. 00:28:06.220 --> 00:28:09.460 Verse 17, there is a picture of Jesus coming with the sword. 00:28:09.720 --> 00:28:11.120 It's what we saw in chapter 12. 00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:12.820 He is the one who bears the sword. 00:28:12.820 --> 00:28:16.840 The sword is an image of judgment in the first century. 00:28:16.839 --> 00:28:26.579 It's what the Romans used for their symbol of the power to judge and the authority to bring condemnation. 00:28:26.919 --> 00:28:34.519 Jesus says, I will come and bring the sword, and I will war against these and those who follow in their teaching. 00:28:36.199 --> 00:28:39.740 Verse 22 and following in Thyatira gives a similar picture. 00:28:40.099 --> 00:28:45.259 It's far more complicated, and I'm not going to spend the time to really get into it because it's complicated. 00:28:45.259 --> 00:28:49.500 And so, but the picture of, I'm going to put her on the sickbed. 00:28:49.579 --> 00:28:51.180 I'm going to bring a great tribulation. 00:28:51.299 --> 00:28:53.000 There will be death to the children. 00:28:53.379 --> 00:29:00.940 It's not clear what all of these images are actually trying to portray, except that there is clearly going to be a consequence. 00:29:01.259 --> 00:29:08.240 Jesus will come, and he will put an end to this person and to this teaching in his church. 00:29:08.440 --> 00:29:11.099 He will bring a judgment to the church. 00:29:11.099 --> 00:29:19.579 And maybe for some, it could be a discipline, like in Hebrews 12, where just as a father disciplines his son, 00:29:19.679 --> 00:29:30.179 so God disciplines us so that we might know his ways, so that we might avoid cutting our fingers off by following his examples. 00:29:30.180 --> 00:29:38.720 But for some, it will be a judgment that will be eternal. 00:29:39.860 --> 00:29:42.180 Because we know this in the book of Revelation. 00:29:42.320 --> 00:29:43.980 We're going to get there as we keep going. 00:29:44.380 --> 00:29:47.880 The book of Revelation says there are only two sides in the end. 00:29:47.880 --> 00:29:54.840 There are those who are under Christ, the conquering king and the recreating savior of the world. 00:29:55.480 --> 00:30:02.220 And there are those who are against Christ, who follow the dragon and the harlot of Babylon and Satan. 00:30:02.440 --> 00:30:08.640 And we'll see all the imagery, but who've set themselves up against God and against Christ and say, 00:30:09.000 --> 00:30:11.220 no, we will do this apart from him. 00:30:11.440 --> 00:30:12.880 We will worship other gods. 00:30:12.980 --> 00:30:14.260 We will worship our own gods. 00:30:14.259 --> 00:30:16.559 We will worship ourselves, whatever it is. 00:30:16.700 --> 00:30:18.339 But we will not bow our knee. 00:30:18.900 --> 00:30:21.359 And this battle is a cosmic battle. 00:30:21.539 --> 00:30:26.859 But it's not like Star Wars, where the force is both good and bad, and it's all going to work out in the end. 00:30:26.859 --> 00:30:33.339 In the end, good will win, and evil will be defeated and will be judged. 00:30:35.400 --> 00:30:40.779 And Jesus is saying, do not follow those who will lead you into destruction. 00:30:40.779 --> 00:30:48.819 Do not follow these patterns of immorality and idolatry that will lead you astray. 00:30:51.700 --> 00:30:57.720 He says, follow Christ now so that you can be with Christ forever. 00:30:59.220 --> 00:31:00.740 And this is the end. 00:31:01.019 --> 00:31:04.259 This is then the fourth point, the way forward. 00:31:04.259 --> 00:31:06.019 Because this is the hope. 00:31:06.420 --> 00:31:13.180 In the middle of these churches that are facing this great pressure, just like we face a similar pressure today, 00:31:14.720 --> 00:31:26.299 Christ holds up a vision for us, a hope that is centered in the person of who Jesus is. 00:31:26.819 --> 00:31:27.039 Right? 00:31:27.140 --> 00:31:28.660 There are calls to respond. 00:31:28.960 --> 00:31:29.759 We've seen these before. 00:31:29.859 --> 00:31:30.879 We see it in verse 16. 00:31:31.319 --> 00:31:32.680 Repent of these things. 00:31:32.680 --> 00:31:33.799 Verse 25. 00:31:34.240 --> 00:31:35.580 Hold fast to Christ. 00:31:35.720 --> 00:31:37.700 Don't be led astray by these things. 00:31:39.080 --> 00:31:48.220 Christ says, you can do this because I am coming, and I am going to give you what your heart really longs for. 00:31:48.560 --> 00:31:53.299 The reason why these are seductive things is because they promise to give you something. 00:31:53.840 --> 00:32:00.480 And I'm going to tell you, I will give you those things in a greater and fuller measure if you hold on to me. 00:32:00.480 --> 00:32:06.120 Christ comes as a picture of this glorious warrior. 00:32:06.599 --> 00:32:06.720 Right? 00:32:07.019 --> 00:32:08.620 He has a sword in his mouth. 00:32:08.740 --> 00:32:09.779 He has bronze feet. 00:32:09.860 --> 00:32:13.860 He has eyes that can see so that he will discern and judge rightly. 00:32:15.220 --> 00:32:15.599 Right? 00:32:15.779 --> 00:32:19.160 And he comes and he says, to those who overcome, I will give rewards. 00:32:19.259 --> 00:32:20.839 Look with me in verse 17. 00:32:20.839 --> 00:32:34.220 To the one who conquers, I will give him, give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone with a new name written on that stone that no one knows except the one who receives it. 00:32:34.959 --> 00:32:36.599 Now, friends, these are images. 00:32:37.039 --> 00:32:37.220 Right? 00:32:37.299 --> 00:32:38.639 This is where we go back and forth. 00:32:38.740 --> 00:32:42.539 When he says sexual immorality and idolatry, we know what that is. 00:32:42.619 --> 00:32:43.539 That's not an image. 00:32:43.619 --> 00:32:44.500 That's just a thing. 00:32:44.899 --> 00:32:46.259 Here we have images. 00:32:46.659 --> 00:32:47.480 Hidden manna. 00:32:47.480 --> 00:32:49.480 Remember what the manna was? 00:32:50.039 --> 00:32:54.299 What God provided for Israel in desperate times in the desert. 00:32:54.559 --> 00:32:59.860 When humanly they looked out and they said, there is no way that we can provide for ourselves. 00:32:59.940 --> 00:33:05.440 They even said, there's no way God can provide for us in the middle of this desert so that we might have food. 00:33:05.759 --> 00:33:10.759 And God miraculously provided manna so that they would live. 00:33:10.759 --> 00:33:18.680 And Jesus comes to us and says, I will give you manna that you have not yet tasted. 00:33:19.039 --> 00:33:31.660 I will give you all the richness of the spiritual resources you need to hold fast and to not give in so that you can live. 00:33:31.660 --> 00:33:38.660 Reminds me of what the promise in Romans 8 says. 00:33:39.500 --> 00:33:44.620 When it talks about God who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all. 00:33:45.340 --> 00:33:52.620 And if he who did this, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 00:33:53.340 --> 00:33:59.160 Now, it doesn't mean God's going to give you a Lamborghini or a promotion or a spouse or health. 00:33:59.160 --> 00:34:08.320 What it does mean is that he will give you the spiritual resources to walk and to persevere with Christ till the end. 00:34:11.059 --> 00:34:16.760 Not only going to give you a white, or a manna, this hidden manna, he's also going to give you a white stone. 00:34:17.039 --> 00:34:19.980 Now, again, we're not going to actually get a white stone in heaven, right? 00:34:20.099 --> 00:34:21.019 This is a picture. 00:34:21.880 --> 00:34:27.340 There's fascinating, the commentaries have like, here are six options of what this might refer to in the first century. 00:34:27.340 --> 00:34:29.920 And, you know, some of them are better, some of them are worse. 00:34:30.200 --> 00:34:39.480 The interesting one that I think is that when there were games, the victors would be given a white stone that would give them entrance into a celebratory banquet. 00:34:39.480 --> 00:34:50.719 Which is a really nice picture of Christ saying, I give you the white stone as you conquer over these powers, as you persevere to the end. 00:34:50.840 --> 00:34:58.119 You are a victorious one and I will give you this entrance into the banquet feast of the Lamb, which we'll see at the end of Revelation 22. 00:34:58.420 --> 00:35:05.440 This picture, this image of eternal, satisfying, abundant fellowship with God, right? 00:35:05.440 --> 00:35:07.260 So, it may be that. 00:35:07.740 --> 00:35:12.039 But the most important thing about this stone is probably that it has a new name on this. 00:35:12.400 --> 00:35:13.619 And it's amazing, isn't it? 00:35:13.619 --> 00:35:16.820 When you look through the scriptures, God loves to give people new names. 00:35:17.360 --> 00:35:19.440 Abram becomes Abraham, right? 00:35:20.659 --> 00:35:21.679 I'm forgetting him. 00:35:21.740 --> 00:35:22.059 Here we go. 00:35:22.440 --> 00:35:24.400 Simon becomes Peter, right? 00:35:24.619 --> 00:35:26.179 Saul becomes Paul. 00:35:26.480 --> 00:35:27.900 Why does he do this? 00:35:27.900 --> 00:35:35.720 Because the new names are a part of his transforming work to give us a new eternal identity in his kingdom. 00:35:36.539 --> 00:35:40.119 Saying, you belong to me and you are a part of my kingdom. 00:35:40.639 --> 00:35:42.000 Now, we don't know what the name is. 00:35:42.099 --> 00:35:44.720 And it says nobody will know it except the person who receives it. 00:35:44.780 --> 00:35:46.720 So, maybe we don't need to know what the names are. 00:35:46.720 --> 00:35:52.480 Except to say, God knows you individually and will say, I see you, I know you. 00:35:52.480 --> 00:35:58.840 And in your perseverance, I will give you a name that will last forever in my kingdom. 00:35:58.960 --> 00:36:01.360 And you will be my children. 00:36:02.800 --> 00:36:03.059 Right? 00:36:03.320 --> 00:36:05.099 A part of this new identity. 00:36:05.519 --> 00:36:07.019 This is what Paul refers to. 00:36:07.079 --> 00:36:12.360 For those of you who have been coming to Sunday school, this is what Paul is trying to tell us at the beginning of Ephesians 1. 00:36:12.519 --> 00:36:17.820 Where he says that God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. 00:36:17.820 --> 00:36:24.860 Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him. 00:36:25.260 --> 00:36:33.400 In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ. 00:36:33.720 --> 00:36:35.740 According to the purpose of his will. 00:36:36.080 --> 00:36:40.160 To the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the beloved. 00:36:41.400 --> 00:36:43.580 God has brought us into his family. 00:36:43.940 --> 00:36:46.720 And just like when we have children, we get to give them a name. 00:36:46.719 --> 00:36:55.500 Christ brings us into his family and he gives us a name that says you are, most importantly, you are a child of God. 00:36:56.480 --> 00:36:58.699 You are part of my family forever. 00:36:58.980 --> 00:37:00.259 I am your heavenly father. 00:37:00.959 --> 00:37:06.879 And you have, men and women, you have all the prerogatives of the sons of God. 00:37:07.299 --> 00:37:10.199 What a great joy this is. 00:37:11.199 --> 00:37:15.319 So he gives you this manna to sustain you and to encourage you. 00:37:15.320 --> 00:37:17.539 He gives you the white stone, which is his new identity. 00:37:17.700 --> 00:37:24.539 And then verse 26, the promise to Thyatira, he will give you the authority to rule over the world. 00:37:25.780 --> 00:37:30.700 When you're a persecuted minority, you feel like the world is against you. 00:37:31.039 --> 00:37:40.220 I remember the days when I lived in China and was just so struck by the overwhelming mass of people who didn't care or know about God. 00:37:40.219 --> 00:37:46.899 And how he lived in a culture where the holidays didn't resolve around Easter and Christmas. 00:37:47.319 --> 00:37:50.199 Where the patterns of life were just different. 00:37:51.059 --> 00:37:53.279 And, you know, and I found great joy in there. 00:37:53.379 --> 00:37:54.659 I loved living there. 00:37:54.779 --> 00:37:56.839 It was a wonderful experience. 00:37:56.840 --> 00:38:03.960 But I felt like I was this little, odd person in a world that didn't fit. 00:38:04.760 --> 00:38:11.519 And I thought, how is this, you know, if there's great pressure, how are we ever going to win? 00:38:12.420 --> 00:38:18.140 And Christ comes to us and he says, I am the victorious king and I will bring you with me. 00:38:18.220 --> 00:38:20.600 Look at me in verse 26 as we close. 00:38:20.599 --> 00:38:25.679 To the one who conquers and who keeps my word until the end. 00:38:25.819 --> 00:38:34.480 To him I will give authority over the nations and he will rule them with a rod of iron as when earth and pots are broken into pieces. 00:38:35.019 --> 00:38:38.719 Even as I myself have received authority from my father. 00:38:39.400 --> 00:38:43.599 He's quoting from Psalm 2, which is one of the great messianic psalms. 00:38:43.880 --> 00:38:45.839 Where God is saying, you are my son. 00:38:45.840 --> 00:38:47.900 Today I have begotten you. 00:38:48.300 --> 00:38:53.600 Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession. 00:38:54.000 --> 00:38:59.900 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. 00:39:00.860 --> 00:39:07.280 And the writer of Revelation, John, picks this up again in chapter 19 of this very book and says, 00:39:07.640 --> 00:39:11.320 this is what Jesus comes when he comes for his final victory. 00:39:11.320 --> 00:39:14.280 The nations that look so fearsome. 00:39:14.920 --> 00:39:17.059 The guilds that put pressure on you. 00:39:17.380 --> 00:39:20.120 Your neighbors that say you must worship the emperor. 00:39:20.480 --> 00:39:22.820 The massive altar in Pergamum. 00:39:23.200 --> 00:39:25.960 These things that seem to be the greatest powers. 00:39:26.860 --> 00:39:30.940 Jesus reminds his people, I am greater than all of those. 00:39:31.519 --> 00:39:32.640 I am the one. 00:39:33.059 --> 00:39:34.600 And you will reign with me. 00:39:35.059 --> 00:39:37.000 Jesus told us this in Matthew 19. 00:39:37.420 --> 00:39:39.860 Paul told us this in 1 Corinthians 6. 00:39:39.860 --> 00:39:46.420 We will be, as his people, brought into this position of ruling with him. 00:39:47.440 --> 00:39:48.800 Conquering with him. 00:39:48.980 --> 00:39:55.920 That the kingdom of God will be this, not abusive power, but this glorious reigning over a world. 00:39:55.920 --> 00:40:02.880 Because Christ has risen from the dead and defeated the enemies. 00:40:03.659 --> 00:40:11.340 And he will come again in one day, make full what he has accomplished already in the cross and in the resurrection. 00:40:11.340 --> 00:40:15.220 And this is the good news of the gospel. 00:40:15.220 --> 00:40:15.860 My friends. 00:40:16.380 --> 00:40:17.340 Or of the gospel. 00:40:17.860 --> 00:40:21.860 This is the good news of what Jesus has done for us and who he is. 00:40:22.120 --> 00:40:24.720 He is a risen and ascended savior. 00:40:24.719 --> 00:40:33.659 And so when we face the pressure this week to follow the world in sexual immorality. 00:40:33.659 --> 00:40:41.440 When we see our hearts being drawn away by the idols of the world around us. 00:40:43.519 --> 00:40:45.599 We look to Christ resurrected. 00:40:46.159 --> 00:40:50.899 We remember he is the one we most want to be with at the end. 00:40:52.179 --> 00:40:57.079 He is the one who will allow us to say no to those who would teach otherwise. 00:40:57.079 --> 00:41:02.779 He is the one who offers us a better life. 00:41:03.299 --> 00:41:06.079 A more fulfilling joy. 00:41:06.960 --> 00:41:09.179 An eternity with him. 00:41:10.380 --> 00:41:12.259 And a kingdom that will not fade. 00:41:13.099 --> 00:41:13.980 Let's pray together. 00:41:18.619 --> 00:41:21.219 Jesus, we do worship you. 00:41:22.279 --> 00:41:23.980 And we love you. 00:41:23.980 --> 00:41:29.460 Lord, and as we have thought about the pressures of this world. 00:41:30.659 --> 00:41:34.300 Lord, there's so much that we face every day. 00:41:35.760 --> 00:41:36.380 Oh, Lord. 00:41:37.240 --> 00:41:41.059 Make our hearts soft and make our consciences tender. 00:41:42.320 --> 00:41:47.039 Lord, so that we might see and know where we may be tempted. 00:41:47.039 --> 00:41:49.199 Where our hearts might be seduced. 00:41:49.719 --> 00:41:53.440 Away from faithful following of you. 00:41:53.980 --> 00:41:58.099 Lord, help us in the moments when we are afraid. 00:41:58.760 --> 00:42:00.860 When following you may be costly. 00:42:02.480 --> 00:42:08.699 Help us, Lord, to look to you and to know what a great cost you gave for us. 00:42:10.760 --> 00:42:12.300 So that we might be yours. 00:42:13.860 --> 00:42:15.460 Lord, help us to follow. 00:42:15.460 --> 00:42:21.800 Lord, empowered not by our own willpower or strength or wisdom or guile. 00:42:23.800 --> 00:42:25.199 But, Lord, in our weakness. 00:42:25.980 --> 00:42:27.119 May it be your power. 00:42:27.980 --> 00:42:30.119 The truth of the gospel that carries us. 00:42:30.900 --> 00:42:32.659 Protects us and sustains us. 00:42:34.460 --> 00:42:36.300 We pray these things in Jesus' name. 00:42:36.300 --> 00:42:48.660 Want to be with you? 00:42:49.160 --> 00:42:50.140 I will tell you. 00:42:50.200 --> 00:42:51.460 Let's pray this thing. 00:42:51.600 --> 00:42:52.039 We pray this thing. 00:42:52.039 --> 00:42:53.380 Have a good spirit. 00:42:53.539 --> 00:42:54.440 Mah- queda where we might be peace to life. 00:42:54.500 --> 00:42:55.140 Grazie sobre forgiveness. 00:42:55.220 --> 00:42:57.260 Mal- platform, healing and healing through all день. 00:42:57.260 --> 00:42:57.800 ako li- 00:42:57.800 --> 00:42:58.240 dengan Noah- 00:42:58.240 --> 00:42:59.100 lex